Current political situation in Iran 2022- statistics & facts
On the 13th of September 2022, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman named Jina Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police in Tehran while visiting family. According to news reports, her arrest was prompted by allegations of her not wearing the headscarf properly and violating the Islamic dress code, which all women must follow while out in public in Iran. Amini suffered a brain hemorrhage while in police custody and subsequently passed away a few days later in the hospital. Government officials denied any wrongdoing and claimed a heart attack or stroke might have led to her death. Her family is adamant that she had no prior health issues and her death was caused by head injuries inflicted on her while in police custody. This claim was backed by eyewitness accounts who reported her being beaten at the police station.
Amini’s death led to a nationwide uproar against the oppression through the morality police and general dissatisfaction with the Islamic regime. The demonstration carried the slogan Zan, Zendegi (life), Azadi (freedom).”
The saying, “that the revolution devours her children”, can be witnessed in Iran, where the general public once welcomed the transition into an Islamic republic, and now the same regime is regarded as undesirable. Although the current protests are echoed widely in international media, they are not the first in recent years. Through the end of the nuclear deal in 2017, any hope of the country opening up and having social reforms was crushed alongside any hopes of ending economic sanctions and, therefore, improving the quality of life for the people in Iran.
Iran since the Islamic revolution in 1979
At first glance, the protests in Iran might seem against the Hijab mandate on women; however, they are considered a general expression against the oppression of the Islamic regime in the country, which has ruled since the Islamic revolution in 1979. At the time, the country was in upheaval to overthrow the ruling monarch of the country, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whose regime was considered oppressive. With the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from exile, Iran transitioned into an Islamic Republic, where the ruling monarch was replaced by a religious guardian council. This council is appointed and can veto any legislation of the elected government.The saying, “that the revolution devours her children”, can be witnessed in Iran, where the general public once welcomed the transition into an Islamic republic, and now the same regime is regarded as undesirable. Although the current protests are echoed widely in international media, they are not the first in recent years. Through the end of the nuclear deal in 2017, any hope of the country opening up and having social reforms was crushed alongside any hopes of ending economic sanctions and, therefore, improving the quality of life for the people in Iran.
